• If needed, dig and divide bearded iris one to two months after bloom (July-August) to establish plants before winter.
Cut leaves to one-third their height. Do not cover the top of the rhizomes with soil or mulch.

• White patches of powdery mildew may be seen on the leaves of garden phlox. To control, plant resistant cultivars,
thin emerging shoots in the spring or use a fungicide.

August

• Refrain from pruning and fertilizing trees and shrubs in late summer to avoid stimulating succulent new growth
that may suffer winter dieback.

• Plant autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) in late summer or early fall as soon as it arrives at garden centers. This
highly toxic plant blooms without foliage in the fall and leaves appear in spring.

• It is too late to spray for bagworms when they have tied the top end of their bag to the twig. If practical, handpick
the bags or mark your calendar to spray in June next year.

• The ideal time to plant daylilies is mid-August through September.

• Excessive leaf drop on crabapple trees is often caused by the disease apple scab. To avoid the problem each year,
replace the tree with a resistant crabapple variety.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

July

• Spots on grape leaves may be due to the diseases anthracnose or black rot. Not much can be done at this time
for control. Pick off and destroy diseased parts and plan a control program for next year.

• Hot dry weather can cause a bitter flavor in cucumbers. Keep plants watered and mulched for the rest of the summer.

• Pick off and destroy tomatoes affected with blossom end rot, a non-parasitic disorder. Control by providing an even
moisture supply, using mulch, and avoiding excess nitrogen.

• Remove water sprouts (vertical sprouts from major branches and the trunk) and suckers (sprouts from the roots) that
appear in fruit trees.

• Try to finishing seeding beets, kohlrabi, kale, Swiss chard, turnips and
bush beans in early August and seed leaf lettuce and spinach by late August. Complete planting broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower
transplants in mid-August.

• Apple harvest begins for fresh eating apples like Redfree and continues through October with apples such as Winesap
and Rome.

• Strawberries should receive 1 inch to 1.5 inches of water per week during dry periods in August and September. This
will help fruit bud formation for the following year and increase yields.

• Dry bulb onions are ready to harvest when most of the tops have fallen over and the necks have shriveled. Pull and
dry for two to four weeks in a location out of direct sun.

• To reduce potential insect and disease problems, prune and destroy the current fruiting canes of raspberries and blackberries
after harvest.•

__________

This calendar is from Steve Mayer, a horticulture educator with Purdue Extension-Marion County. For more information
on gardening, contact the Purdue Extension-Marion County Master Gardener Answerline at (317) 275-9292, or e-mail: marionmg@purdue.edu.

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